Vapourer Moth Eggs

Vapourer Moth (Orgyia antiqua) eggs laid on the female moths cocoon in a crevice in the bark of an Oak tree. Shrewsbury, Shropsire, March 2022. The female Vapourer is wingless but produces strong feromones that attract the attractive, day flying male moths to them. Once they have mated the female lays her eggs on the surface of the cocoon she pupated in earlier in the summer. The eggs overwinter exposed to the elements and usually hatch late March-April time depending on the weather. The tiny young caterpillars are then dispersed by the wind to hopefully somewhere that they can find a suitable food plant for them to feed upon. This is an in camera stack of fifteen images.